Disney locks the Disney Vault, ceases DVD distribution in Australia
Sorry, mate, Disney doesn’t do DVD down under anymore
Aux News Self-censorship
In another win for Disney+, The Walt Disney Company has ceased DVD and Blu-ray distribution in Australia and New Zealand. As confirmed by a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the final release from the Mouse House in the countries. However, we’ve been assured that viewers can watch Disney+ to enjoy Disney classics and new releases, such as Willow season one and Artemis Fowl. The only option for viewers looking to score a copy of the 4K release of Cinderella is through international retailers because once stock runs out in the country, Disney will not replenish.
As noted by The Digital Bits, which first confirmed the news, the move is not surprising. Disney has already stopped distributing DVDs in some Asian and Latin American countries. Physical media sales in the region are dismal, and as global retailers like Amazon suck up a market share of customers, Disney has fewer reasons to keep shelves stocked.
It’s hard not to see this story as another death knell for physical media. As the writers’ and actors’ strikes have illuminated, streaming isn’t profitable, and those who make the content get paid peanuts for their work. Revenue streams, like home video, that were used to recoup profits on underperformers are drying up. As director Steven Soderbergh told Vulture: “The entire industry has moved from a world of Newtonian economics into a world of quantum economics, where two things that seem to be in opposition can be true at the same time: You can have a massive hit on your platform, but it’s not actually doing anything to increase your platform’s revenue. It’s absolutely conceivable that the streaming subscription model is the crypto of the entertainment business.”
28 Comments
Honestly, it’s a good thing. We need way less plastic crap, I don’t give a shit about people’s physical libraries.If you don’t want to subscribe, pirate what you need.
Oh no, won’t someone please think of 1999’s hottest video format.
You’re dating the peak and/or end of the DVD format waaaay too far back.
But it’s not just DVD. It’s Blu-ray too. And there isn’t any physical media that’s replaced that. Basically they want you to subscribe to Disney+ or don’t see any Disney film at home ever again. And if Disney decides to shelve some of their stuff because that’s the trendy thing to do, you won’t be able to see it. Yes, piracy, I know. But even that might not work in the future because most of the stuff out there in torrents is ripped DVDs and Blu-rays.
It appears that Disney will continue streaming sales and rentals there, although that has similar reliability issues.
It’s good to know that Matt reads our smartarse comments from two days ago, ain’t it, Frank? And that my smartarse commentary is actually more accurate.
I seriously wonder if that’s how they got the idea for the article!
It sucks that, because of how he chose to only put “DVD” in the title this serious issue is now lost in a sea “HURR, DURR, WHO STILL WATCHES DVDS, LOL?!” jokes.
Nah, everything from the major streaming services is ripped immediately too, including digital rentals/purchases. Across the Spider-Verse will show up on the piracy sites upon its digital release next week even though the physical formats are still a month away.
Don’t forget that streaming is a far inferior way to experience a movie, both in image and sound quality.
Most people can’t tell the difference, or at least don’t consider the difference big enough to matter.
“ because most of the stuff out there in torrents is ripped DVDs and Blu-rays.”
Nope. Most things are out next day from streaming.
Is it? Every new movie I see gets ripped from streaming.
There are a lot of remote locations in Australia that can’t get fast internet so this sucks for those people.
Trust me Australia is nothing but an Island full of criminals they deserve it
As an Australian, I have to say harsh but fair.
There’s a reason why we had the highest piracy rates in the world. Lord knows we’re heading back there. I’m in a regional city, and if it rains, chances are my internet drops out and dies, and even then it probably isn’t fast enough to stream 4k while doing other things online. I’m lucky to get 70mbps.Thanks, Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard, you free market fuckwits.
Also counterfeit dvds are really popular in latin america so some people just buy those instead of official dvds
This makes sense because it was very expensive to print the DVD to spin in the opposite direction
As an Australian, I resemble that remark.
but what am I gonna spend my Dollarydoos on now?…
I got a knife I could sell ye.
I’d prefer a spoon…
That’s not a knife.
“Shut the DVDs down, sport. Shut the DVDs down.”- Bruce, CEO of Disney’s Australia Division
Yeah…I wouldn’t go quoting Rolf…
I’m an Australian but when I heard this news, I thought about it and I buy an average of zero US films/TV a year for about the last decade and I mainly bought South Korean films direct from that country back when I did anyway.
Why would anyone possibly want a phsyical copy of their favourite Disney thing in the age of streaming?